Dispensing machine



A ril 13, .1943. 1 P. D. PARSONS 2,316,182

I DISPENSING MACHINE Filed Feb 25, 193 9 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Apag-ilv 13,1943. D. PARSONS 2,316,182 DISPENSING MACHINE s Sheets-Shegt 2 FiledFeb. 25, 1939 o c: a c o o I U U I n Patented Apr. 13, 1943 DISPENSINGMACHINE Philip D. Parsons, Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to Scott PaperCompany, Chester, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationFebruary 25, 1939, Serial No. 258,475

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in vending machines, and aprincipal object of the invention is to provide a coin-actuated machineof this class which shall be relatively simple in mechanical form, andboth highly eflicient and substantially fool-proof in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and generallyimproved coin-actuated mechanism of the stated class.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide a novel and improvedvending machine for paper towels and the like.

The invention further resides in the structural and functional featuresand in the details of mechanism hereinafter set forth and illustrated inthe attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a towelvending machine made inaccordance with my invention Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the maFigs. 9 and 10 are enlarged fragmentary end elevational viewsillustrating details of the coin mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in perspective of one of the elements ofthe coin mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a section on the line |2-|2, Fig. 6, and

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are fragmentary sectional views on the line Fig. 6,illustrating the details and mode of operation of the towel-dischargingelements.

With reference to the drawings, the toweldispensing device thereinillustrated comprises a casing I having in the interior a compartment 2for reception of a stack of towels 3, from which stack the towels areadapted to be individually withdrawn, by mechanism hereinafterdescribed, and discharged from the casing through a transverse slot 4.The cabinet is composed in the present instance of a central portion ,5which forms the top, rear and bottom walls, 6, I and 8 respectively, ofthe cabinet, two end members 9 and II which form the side walls of thecabinet and which are secured in place upon. the central portion 5 bymeans of the tie bolts l2, and the front panel l3 which is hinged at thebottom upon a rod l4 extending between the end members 9 and II andwhich at the top is provided with a suitable lock l5 whereby this panelmay be normally retained in the cabinet-closing position. The lower edgeof the panel l3 defines the upper edge of the discharge slot 4. The endmember forms a housing for the coin mechanism, as hereinafter described,and is provided with a separate detachable panel I6 which is held inplace in the end member by lugs I! at the bottom and at the top by asuitable lock l8.

Rotatably mounted upon a shaft |9 fixed in the end members 9 and H atthe bottom of the cabinet is a perforated cylinder 2|. Secured at oneend of the cylinder 2| isa cam 20, and to the outer side of this cam issecured a gear 22 which meshes with a gear 23, this latter gear havingsecured thereto and projecting through an opening in the end member II aknob or handle 24 by means of which the said gear may be rotated toactuate the pinion 22 and to thereby turn the cylinder 2|. To theopposite end of the cylinder 2| is secured a ratchet wheel 25 which ishoused in the end member 9 and which is connected to the fixed shaft N!by means of a coiled spring 21. A pawl 28 pivotally secured at 29 to theinside of the end member 9 coacts with the ratchet wheel 25 in a mannerhereinafter described.

As shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the cylinder 2| occupies a positionimmediately below the towel stack 3, this stack being supported uponflanges 3| and 32 atthe front and rear of the cabinet respectively. Theindividual towels are folded in flattened C-formation with the infolded.and inwardly to a point in proximity to the surface of the cylinder 2I. The cylinder 2| has projecting therefrom a rigid substantiallytangential flange 34, and this flange when the cylinder is rotated isadapted to engage the flap 33 of the lowermost towel, as shown in Fig.13, and to withdraw the towel from the bottom of the stack, as shown inFig. 14. The towel which is designated in Fig. 14 by the referencenumeral 35 is carried by the flange 34 to the position shown, at whichpoint the outer edge of the flange engages the under side of a stopelement 36 in the interior of the cabinet, thereby preventing furthermovement in that direction of the cylinder. It will be noted that inthis position the forward edge of the towel lies inwardly of thedischarge slot 4 and opposite the lower ,edge of the latter, so that ifin this position the cylinder is released, the spring 21, which has beentensioned by the aforedescribed rotary movement of the cylinder, willcause the latter to turn backwardly to its original position, therebyprojecting the towel from the discharge slot 4, as shown in Fig. 15. Inorder to prevent the towel from falling freely from the. cabinet, thelatter is provided at each side of the discharge slot 4 with aprojecting pin, 31, 31, which engage behind the flap 33 of the towel, asshown in Fig. 15, to thereby retain the towel in the projected position,from which it may readily be withdrawn for use.

The cylinder 2| is shown in its normal position in Fig. 7. It will benoted that in this position the flange 34 of the cylinder lies inabutment with the inner edge of the inwardly projecting stop flange 36,thereby limiting the rotation of the cylinder in the reverse directionby the spring 21. It will be noted further that in this normal positionof the cylinder 2|, the pawl 28, which is weighted, hangs freely in anormal position with the working end thereof extending into a. recess 38in the ratchet 25. When the cylinder 2| is rotated in the direction ofthe arrows in Fig. 13 for discharge. of one of the towels from the stack3 in the manner previously described, the pawl 28 by engagement with theendwall of the re cess 38 will be swung to the left, as shown in Fig.12, and will in thisposition and by engagement with anyone of theratchet teethprevent a reverse rotation of the cylinder 2| until thelatter has been rotated to the full extent permitted by the stop element35. In this advanced position of the cylinder, the pawl 28 will enter asecond recess 39 in the ratchet 25, and will thereby be permitted tomove by gravity into the normal position in which it is shown, forexample, in Fig. '7; If now the turning knob 24 is released, thespring21- will react as previously described to turn the cylinder 2| inthe reverse direction toward its normal position, in which it isshownin-Fig. 7', and in this reverse movement, the pawl 28' will beswung-by engagement with. the end of the recess '39 into an angularposition which istherreverse of. that shown in Fig. 12, and will,therefore, be inoperative to prevent 'thereverse rotary movement of thecylinder 2| to the normal position. It will be apparent that by means ofthis device a return of the cylinder to the normal position after theadvance movement has oncebeen initiated is prevented until the cylinderhas been completely advanced to the maximum extent or until the flange34 engages the under side of the stop 35.

The coin control mechanism, which as previously set forth is housed inthe end member ll 01' the casing, is shown in Figs. 3 and 9 to 11',inclusive. It consists of a bell crank lever 4| which is pivotallysecured in the end member ll upon a shaft 42. One arm 43 of this leverextends transversely and normally rests upon the surface of the cam 20,and the other arm 44 of the lever extends upwardly and is formed at thetop after the manner best illustrated in Fig. 11. As therein shown, theupper end of the arm is formed with two relatively spaced projectingflanges 45 and. 46, said flanges forming therebetween a slot forreception of a coin, as hereinafter described. The bases of the flangesare connected by means of a web 41, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 11,the upper edge of this web being formed on an are more or less closelyconforming to the circumference of the coin and forming a seat for thelatter. The outer end of the flange 45 is provided on its inner facewith a triangular lug 48, the function of which will be hereinafterdescribed.

As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the lever 4i occupies a position such thatthe upper flanged end of the arm 4 or rather the slot between theflanges 45 and 45 of this arm, occupies a position immediately below andin alignment with the lower end of a coin slot 4% which is formed in theend member H, the upper end of this slot intersecting the forward edgeof said end member, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9. Thus when a coin isinserted in the slot 49, it will pass downwardlyand' into the spacebetween the flanges 45 and 46 of the arm 45. The normal position of thelever 4| is determined by a leaf spring 5| which is confined between thearm 44 and the adjoining wall of the end member H, and vhich exertspressure tending to turn the lever as a whole in a clockwise direction,as viewed in Fig. 3, this clockwise movement of the lever be ing limitedby the engagement of the outer end of the arm 43 with the surface of thecam 20. In this normal position of the lever, the arm 44 lies in suchproximity to a fixed lug 52 in the end member I! that a coin passingdownwardly from the slot 49 and into the space between the flanges 45and 46 of the arm 44 is prevented from passing between the said flanges,and is retained upon the curved seat of the web 47, as shown in Fig. 9,wherein the coin referred to is designated by the reference numeral 53.It is apparent that for release of this coin the arm 44 must be, movedaway from the fixed lug 52 against the tension of the spring 5i.

It will be noted that the coin 53, which is confined as described abovebetween the curved upper edge of the web 41 at the back of the slotbetween the flanges 45 and 4B and the fixed lug 52, functions to preventany movement of the arm 44 in the direction of the lug 52. If,therefore, the cam 20 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig.3, which rotation occurs when the knob, 24 is turned in the clockwisedirection,

as viewed in the same figure, for discharge of a towel as describedabove, the arm 43 of the lever M will be held fixed in the positionshown, and will not follow the recessed contour of the cam.

It will be noted that in the normal position of the cam 20 and the lever4|, the outer end of the arm 43 bears upon a portion of the cam which isradially inset from the outer cam surface. It will be noted also that asth cam 20 is rotated from the normal position in the direction of thearrow, as shown in Fig. 3, the contacting end of the arm 43 willeventually ride up on the outer periphery of the cam at the pointindicated by the reference numeral 54, and that when this engagementoccurs, the arm 43 will be slightly elevated from its normal position,and the arm 44 of the lever wi11 thereby be moved outwardly against thepressure of the spring 5i sufliciently far to free the coin 53 from there tarding lug 52, the coin thus freed dropping downwardly by gravityfrom between the flanges 45 and 46 and being deposited in acoin-receiving pocket 55 formed on the inside of the member l6. Withfurther reference to Fig. 3, it will be noted that between the point 58where the arm 43 of the lever 4| normally engages the cam 20 and thepoint 54, the cam is provided with teeth 51 which would act normally topreclude the rotation of the cam 20. When,however, a coin occupies thespace between the flanges 45 and 46 of the arm 44 of the lever and liesin engagement with the fixed lug 52, the lever 41 is prevented frommoving to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, so that the arm 43 is retainedin the position shown, all as previously set forth. The tips of theteeth 51 are slightly inset radially from the point 56 at which the arm43 normally engages thecam so that the arm 43 is prevented by the coin53 from engaging the teeth 51. In the absence of the coin53, it will beapparent that the spring 5| would cause the arm 43 of the bell cranklever to engage the near tooth 51, and would thereby prevent the camfrom being rotated except through a relatively small angle.

I i It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the depositof a single coin in the slot 49 will permit an operator to free onetowel from the cabinet, and in order to facilitate the operation of thevending machine if more than one towel is required, the slot 49 is madeof suflicient depth to permit of simultaneous insertion of at leastthree coins, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. When as previously describedthe lever 44 is moved in the counterclockwise direction, as viewed forexample in Fig. 10, to release the coin 53, the lug 48 on the flange 45will have moved to the position shown in Fig. 10, in which position itblocks the coin slot channel and prevents the succeeding coin,designated 58 in the drawings, from passing downwardly in the slot. Thecoin 58, therefore, remains in its original position until the arm 44 ofthe lever is moved forwardly into the normal position, at which timethis coin drops downwardly between the flanges 45 and 46 and is retainedbetween the flanges by the lug 52. It is now possible for the operatorto again rotate the cam 20 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 untilthe point 54 is reached, when the lever 41 will again be rocked againstthe pressure of the spring 5| to permit the coin 58 to pass into thecoin chamber 55. The same sequence of operations then follows withrespect to the third coin 58.

In the operation of the machine it will be apparent that discharge ofthe lowermost towel of the stack is normally prevented by action of thearm 43 of the bell chank lever 4| and the teeth 51 of the cam 20, aspreviously set forth. Upon insertion of a coin, however, it is possibleto turn the cylinder 2| through the medium of the knob 24 in thedirection of the arrows in Fig. 13 to an extent releasing one of thetowels from the stack, and this towel will be discharged from the slot 4when the knob 24 is released to permit the spring 21 to return thecylinder 2| to its original position. The ratchet 25 and the pawl 28afford assurance that a towel will be delivered for each coin insertedin the machine, and preclude loss of a coin due, for example, topremature release of the knob 24 by the operator. Thus the pawil 28prevents the recessional movement of the cyl inder 21 by action of thespring 21 until the cylinder has been advanced in the towel-dischargingoperation to the full extent of its movement and until the flange 34contacts the stop flange 35. The ratchet 25 and pawl "28 function notonly to insure a proper delivery'of the individual towels afterinsertionof the coin, but also insure that the towels will be withdrawn from thestack and delivered through the slot '4 in normal sequence, and therebypreclude jamming of the machine by reason of non-delivery of any onetowel after withdrawal or partial withdrawal of the towel from thestack.

As shown in'Fig. 8, the front panel l3 of tthe cabinet is provided witha window 5! through which the towel stack 3 is visible, so that the (1B-vice may'more readily be serviced and a constant supply of towelsmaintained. In the event, how: ever that the towels become completelyexhausted, provision is made for indicating this conditionfrom the frontof the cabinet to thereby preclude the useless insertion and loss ofcoins in the .machine. With reference to "7 and 8, it will be noted thatimmediatelyabove the window 6| a flap 62 is hinged to the inner face ofthe panel l3. Normally this flap 62 is retained in an elevated position,as shown in Fig. 7, by the towel stack. When, however, the stack fallsbelow the hinge B3 of the flap, the latter is permitted to move inwardlyupon its hinge by gravity, until when the towels are completely.exhausted, this flap will occupy a position obstructing the window 6|.As shown in Fig. 8, the flap 62 is marked with the word Empty, and whenthe flap is in the window-obstructing position, see Fig. l, the word isvisible through the window, thereby warning that the supply of towels inthe cabinet has been exhausted.

It will be noted that the inner wall of the coin pocket 55 is providedwith perforations 64 which are not sufiiciently large to permit thepassage of the coins but through which the coins are visible in theinterior of the pocket. It will be noted further that the inner wall ofthe end member H opposite the coin pocket 55 is provided with a seriesof apertures 65, see Figures 3 and 6, so that through these aperturesand the aforesaid perforations 64 visibility may be had from theinterior of the cabinet proper to the interior of the coin pocket 55. Bythis means, it is possible for the individual or individuals servicingthe device to determine the level of the coins in the coin pocketwithout the necessity for removing the panel [6, and this panel,therefore, need be removed only at such time as the number of coinsapproaches the capacity of the coin pocket.

Iclaim:

1. In an article-dispensing machine, a casing having a delivery port, asupport in the casing for said articles, a rotary member positioned inan intermediate position between said port and the support, means forlimiting the rotary movement of said member in both directions,article-engaging means on the member arranged first to engage and thento withdraw an article from the support to a position opposite thedelivery port 7 when the said member is rotated continuously betweensaid limits in one direction, and to discharge the said article throughthe delivery port when the member is subsequently moved in the reversedirection, and means for actuating said member.

2. In an article-dispensing machine, a casing having a delivery port, asupport in said casing for said articles, a member mounted in the casingfor successive movements in opposite directions, means for limiting themovement of the member in both directions, article-engaging means on themember arranged to withdraw an article from the support to a positionopposite the delivery port when the said member is moved continuouslybetween said limits in one direction, and to discharge the said articlethrough the delivery port when the member is subsequently moved in thereverse direction, and means precluding initiation of said reversemovement until the member has reached the limit of its movement in thefirst direction, said means comprising a ratchet connected to andmovablewith said member, a pawl coacting with said ratchet, means fornormally retaining said pawl in a normal neutral position in which it isinoperative to prevent movement of said ratchet in either direction,means automatically operative at the beginning of the first of saidmovements to adjust said pawl into a position operative to prevent thereverse movement of the ratchet, and means automatically operative atthe beginning of said reverse movement to adjust said pawl into asecondary position in which it is inoperativ to prevent said reversemovement.

3. In an article-dispensing machine, a casing having a delivery port, asupport in said casin for said articles, a rotary member positioned inan intermediate position between said port and the support, said memberbeing adapted when rotated in one direction to engage and withdraw anarticle from said support and to carry said article to a positionopposite said port, and when subsequently rotated in the oppositedirection to propel said article through the port, manual means forrotating the said member in one direction, and resilient means forrotating the said member in the opposite direction.

4. In an article-dispensing machine, a casing having a delivery port, asupport in said casing for said articles, a rotary member positioned inan intermediate position between said port and" V the support, saidmember being adapted when rotated in one direction to engage andwithdraw an article from said support and to carry said article to aposition opposite said port, and when subsequently rotated in theopposite direction to propel said article through the port, manual meansfor rotating the said member in one direction, resilient means forrotatingthe said mem. ber in the opposite direction, and means forlimiting the rotary movement of said member in both directions.

5. In a dispensing machine, a casing having a delivery port, a supportin the casing for a stack of folded paper towels, said supportcomprising a shoulder at each of two opposite sides of the casingconstituting seats for opposite sides of the stack, one of saidshoulders being formed so as to permit a folded edge of the lowermosttowel to depend from the normal plane of the bottom of the stack, arotary member positioned in an intermediate position between said portand the support and having thereon a projecting flange adapted when themember is rotated in one direction to engage the said folded edge of thelowermost towel, the shoulder supporting said edge being relativelynarrow and permitting the flange by continued rotation in the said onedirection to withdraw the towel from the support to a position whereinthe opposite edge of the towel lies in alignment with the said deliveryport, whereby when the member is rotated in the reverse direction thesaid flange is operative to sweep the towel through said port.

PHILIP D. PARSONS.

